AusBonsai

Had this Acer palmatum senkaki ( coral bark maple, red stem maple ) for a few years now, it had a nice root flare going on at the base and a nice scar that could be carved . The problem is the space inbetween !! It has been budded so I guess the only thing I could do is air layer just below the scar and slightly above where it was budded , and use the lower half as a straight Japanese maple bonsai . Will give me two nice plants in time I hope, I've never done an air layer so keen to try , obviously now is a bad time and I should wait until spring I would think ??

probably should first research how well this variant grows on its own roots-could also maybe air or ground layer at or just below the graft where the trunk is slightly fatter and still have the different rootstock,and still get two plants.

Greetings,
I think you should seek advice face to face with someone with air layering knowledge. Try your local club.
Before you do anything you need to look harder at the root system, scrap away the dirt and leaves.
Then think about it again. Have you lifted it out of the pot and looked at the roots?
All the branches are pointing UP, you should work on these first. It will shot back well if you prune hard.
If it is possible plant it in the ground for a few years to thicken it up.
An air layer across the graft will not take. I think you could finish with a dead stick rather than 2 trees.
If you must do something and have to repot, hide the straight trunk behind a rock.
happy bonsai,
Bruce

Check if it can survive on its own roots first as Bruce has said.
take some cuttings and see if they take. If not then beware. If they do, then maybe plant out and use as a source of cuttings and maybe layer stock tree?

The Graft will look funny always and it will be difficult to layer in a small section like that.

Ken

Hi Woodwiz,
I have a Sango Kaku which is Coral Bark Maple. As a club project members airlayered 5 limbs as I wanted to shorten the tree. They went on lower than the white line in the pic.
2 of the 5 were succesfull and the previous year I took one which also suvived.
We tried a variety of methods and the reason for the failier's we put down to being over wet because those layers were packed with muck under the moss. You can find a thread on that subject on site. The usual %rate of failiers were acceptable for us. The first branch on the right in the pic ended up being removed altogether so now I plan a right to left canopy tree and is now looking much better after removal of half its height.
This Maple is one of the last to get bud swell so we had a patient wait untill Oct to put the layers on. They were removed in Feb and the ones that took are now still healthy.

I never went with the air layer, but here is a photo of this Acer pal senkaki with leaf, I'm impressed how full it is !

These grow well on their own roots, i have 2 I bought from Straco which were not grafted. I recently trunk chopped one and it has responded well. I would airlayer it both below & above the scar. The above section would be great broom material

I don't know who or what Straco is Luke but are they really selling Senkaki? We have a seller at our local market who sells 'Senkaki' seedlings which is impossible. She has even purchased printed Senkaki plant labels to help with sales. I have seen others offering 'Senkaki' seedlings as well so this is quite common but seedlings cannot be identical to a varietal parent.
If they are grown from seed they cannot be Senkaki. Even if they have red bark there will be other genetic differences that make each seedling different from the parent.

Note that I'm NOT saying senkaki cannot be grown as cuttings or layers. It is a vigorous enough variety to suggest that it should be able to be grown on its own roots and people should at least try it.

I had a 'coral bark' maple few years back, had it about four years, was probably 5-10 yo when I got it. Observations from recollection are: nice bark, but branches scar easily from wire and don't heal well; fairly sensitive roots - I root pruned late winter and as hard as any of my Japanese Maples and not as hard as on my Tridents, but that's what killed it! Finally got into a decent pot and lost it.

I've got some self seeded seedlings from a yard tree that I'm hoping survive summer and grow on

shibui wrote:I don't know who or what Straco is Luke but are they really selling Senkaki? We have a seller at our local market who sells 'Senkaki' seedlings which is impossible. She has even purchased printed Senkaki plant labels to help with sales. I have seen others offering 'Senkaki' seedlings as well so this is quite common but seedlings cannot be identical to a varietal parent.
If they are grown from seed they cannot be Senkaki. Even if they have red bark there will be other genetic differences that make each seedling different from the parent.

Note that I'm NOT saying senkaki cannot be grown as cuttings or layers. It is a vigorous enough variety to suggest that it should be able to be grown on its own roots and people should at least try it.

Stratco is a hardware store here in South Australia. Just like bunnings but not as many of them.

I understand what you mean, and by all means I am not disagreeing. It was labelled as coral bark maple "sango kaku" There were 6-8ft tall and no thicker than my pinky finger. One of them is currently about 2" diameter and still in a foam box growing on. I don't mind what they are called, but I took one to a club workshop recently and had lots of comments asking if I had painted the trunk